Unity urged on ethical global supply

A divided industry lags the world in international corporate and social responsibility (CSR), with smaller companies the worst offenders, a new report has concluded.

The Ethical Threads Report was launched in Melbourne on September 4 by counter-poverty charity the Brotherhood of St Laurence - which operates ethical fashion label Hunter Gatherer. Billed as the garment industry's first comprehensive investigation of attitudes to CSR in relation to labour conditions and supply chain transparency, report participants comprised 23 fashion companies including Gorman, Cue, Review and Country Road as well as business and labour rights organisations, government employees and outworkers.

Co-author Emer Diviney said the study found many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) - had failed to address supply chain transparency internationally.

"While the Homeworkers Code of Practice (HCWP) has made progress in raising awareness of local outworkers, many companies, particularly SMEs, have no infrastructure with which to address international supply chain transparency. Significantly we also found that many do not believe consumers care about these issues and feel there is no business case for developing CSR strategies."

The report recommended industry and government bodies establish a "multi-stakeholder platform" to promote the uptake of international CSR in the Australian apparel industry, Diviney said.

"It's very difficult for SMEs - which account for 80 per cent of Australian businesses - to deal with this individually. It has to be a sectoral approach."

With the findings in contrast to the US and Europe where CSR frameworks had been successfully introduced, Australia needed to act "within the next couple of years," she said.

"There's a growing business case [for CSR]. International supply chains are complex and we recognise that this is a huge task. However it's up to industry and government to address it, otherwise there is a risk to our export market. Given the current buzz around green clothing it's only a matter of time before consumers start demanding 'CSR friendly' fashion."

By Belinda Smart